The Castle Falls
by Moonlight Site
Summary: The sins of the father become the sins of the son as a ressurected Christian Deviloux fights to free his soul. Tragedy and Sadness ultimately lead to Rebirth
1. Forced Entrance

Disclaimer: I'd like to state at the fore-front that this piece of fiction, while based in the Zoids Universe, will have very little to do with the Zoids themselves, or any prior existing characters in the franchise; and takes place within the fictional confines of the Zoids RPG at . I'm afraid I can't offer you a heated Zoid battle, or a nifty romance tale. But, what I can offer you is a neat little exploration of one man as he comes to grips with himself and the world around him.  
  
'Zoids,' 'Planet Zi,' and 'Vega Obscura' are copyright Hasbro and Tomy, I claim no responsibility for their creation and are used in this fiction for entertainment purposes only. Christian Obscura Deviloux, Marcus Deviloux, Danius Gabriel, Melissa Obscura and other characters contained within as well as their intellectual properties were created and are owned by me.  
  
This work of fiction, 'The Castle Falls' is rated R for strong language, beyond excessive violence, adult situations, slight sexual content and several references to sibling incest. Thank you for taking the time to read through the disclaimer and for taking an interest in my work -- enjoy!  
  
Midnight - the Ghouls' dawn, as they say... it was the perfect time of day for an underworld celebration. Most every respectable human being would be tucked away in their shelters; huddling with their loved ones. Depending on your outlook on life, one could find such a practice laughable. In either case, I believe we're delving from the issue at hand. Yes... Midnight... and if you're a Deviloux, this midnight holds nigh holy significance; for tonight is the celebrated 'Night of the Harvest' - an event held annually where the profits - monetary, material, or otherwise are gathered and calculated. It is on this night that the family gathering takes place at Master Marcus' castle on the far-side of the unnamed continent... far away from the eyes of those that should otherwise be averted.  
  
From all around the globe, family members gather out of a traditional belief held by the elders. That being, the feelings of togetherness and trust brought on by the gathering will bring good tidings for the Harvests yet to come. To date, only one non-family member had ever attended a Harvest Night and... For the first time in six years, after an absence only few knew the reason for... he would again attend.  
  
Christian's fingers tingled inside the confines of his jacket pockets; while his hair and the coattails of his overly long button-up shirt danced in the musty night wind. Gazing upon Marcus' castle, his golden eyes flared with anticipation.  
  
"You know..." Danius spoke up from behind, "...most people don't make it back out of hell; and the rare few that do, usually reform their ways as to stave off a return trip."  
  
"Have you... ever been away from home so long; that when you finally return there, you can't help but feel giddy? Danius?" Chris shot back, teeth shimmering in the moonlight exposed through a sheepish grin.  
  
The silver-haired boy pondered his companion's question for a moment as he recalled distant memories of his home, "No... Can't say that I have." was his answer. Whether lying or not, he needn't delve further and Christian didn't care enough to force the issue.  
  
Forced Entrance - Party Night  
  
Deviloux Manor, as it came to be known; was seemingly a construct of another world, or at least from an earlier era (or two). At any rate, the estate was massive beyond comprehension and while the bulk of the family presently resided within its walls, a select few had to be stuck with the unfortunate task of guard duty. Even though Eastern Continent was virtually uninhabited, one could never be too careful; especially when the whole of a family of criminals was involved. One could never be too careful.  
  
Down by the front door... "This SUCKS!"  
  
"Would you calm down, Jean? Our shift is only for two hours, and then you can get piss drunk like you always do." A calmer voice answered the previous yelp.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But still. I don't see why they need to stick guys like us with a shitty job like this. In fifty years, there's never been a single break-in during the Harvest... not even during the war! Besides; even if there was... every family member around the planet is here, ain't nobody dumb enough on this dirt ball to break-in to a shindig with this guest list..." The young man named Jean continued with his tirade; obviously displeased with the night's events so far.  
  
His companion, an older man, had stopped listening to his partner's whining. Even though the shift was for two hours as stated... he was beginning to entertain the notion that it was going to be a long night.  
  
"Fine. Forget you then." Jean huffed.  
  
"Goddamn man... even after all this time, all you ever do is bitch." Another voice broke in.  
  
"What the- Who the hell's there!?" Jean demanded, reaching into his jacket.  
  
Emerging from the darkness came Christian walking calmly toward the main gates; hands tucked idly in his pockets.  
  
"...Christian?" Jean asked no one in particular, hesitating on his prior actions to examine the incoming figure a little more carefully. "...Holy shit! It is you! Man, you've grown! Where the hell you been!?" he then chirped as he walked over to the former intruder.  
  
-thwip!- "...around."  
  
Jean's body fell silently to the ground, a small, smoking crater in his forehead cast away the fleeting signs of life while Christian turned his attention to the remaining guard. "You gotta be kidding me-!" The older man exclaimed in disbelief.  
  
-thwip! thwip! thwip!- He too plummeted to the ground with similar orifices in his chest and head.  
  
"A silencer? That's not like you." Danius offered casually, again appearing from behind the blue-haired young man.  
  
Christian shrugged, sticking the silenced handgun back to the confines of his jacket, "It's a little cold out tonight... so I'd rather kill them all inside where it's cozier."  
  
"...and... how many of them are there, exactly??"  
  
"Four-hundred-and-sixty-seven, counting women and children." Christian informed his would-be partner, leaning down to pick up Jean's body, "er... sixty-five. Now."  
  
Walking up to the decaying main gate, he eyed the vintage door until his gaze met the almost foreign looking panel... rectangular in shape; illuminated by a back-mounted green light adorned by three small flashing bulbs above the panel. Manipulating Jean's right hand, Christian stuck the cold digits to the emerald pane. The small bulbs flickered momentarily before giving way to the sound of a heavy click and sliding metal.  
  
Danius looked on with dull eyes as the grinning Christian made his way past the parted doors and finally into the castle's exterior, "Have fun."  
  
"Oh... I will..."  
  
Signaled by the opening gates, an old host garbed in a butler's outfit rushed to greet the entrants; assuming they were late comers since with a crowd this large, it was difficult to determine who was there and who hadn't arrived yet.  
  
Christian smiled and waved to the attendant with his index and middle finger, "Yo."  
  
"You... GUARDS!" cried the butler, only to be stopped short by the gleaming blade of a dagger forcing its way down his throat; ultimately pinning him to the wall.  
  
The commotion drew the attention of the some hundred or so guests situated in the dining hall just beyond the entry-way, all with the same shocked expression as they witnessed the insane act committed before their very eyes. There must be two hundred eyes staring at me... and half as many gun barrels. Perfect. 


	2. Red Rain

...and the world of audio ceased to be. The ceremonious unloading of rounds from some hundred plus handguns and automatics drown out all else; creating a void of white noise. After the masses were convinced their target had been decimated; five pulled away and marched into the entry-hall; spying Christian's smoldering scarlet jacket draped over his body, they presumed the night's interruption had come to a close.  
  
"Hey, wait..."  
  
"...this is..."  
  
Mentally they all began cursing to themselves as the face lying beneath the jacket was that of the butler killed just moments before... what was left of him anyway. From the dining hall, a blood curdling scream erupted and silenced just as quickly, everyone turned to see Christian wearing a mischievous grin as he stood atop the remains of a woman's head he'd crushed upon descending from the ceiling.  
  
"My god..." "I don't believe this!" "...therfucker!" "You're dead, you prick!"  
  
Such taunts and swears continued all around him in a circular wave while those with weapons scrambled to reload. Christian withdrew the sun-colored glasses from his eyes and quietly stuffed them in a shirt-pocket about his breast then, with unfathomable speed; crept down to the ground and held open his left palm into which a gleaming rod appeared... growing to a length of five feet before the eyes of countless nonbelievers. Upon the ends of the rod ignited triangular beams of intense green light. You could say he was waiting for them... or enjoying this... or both. As soon as the armada of gun-barrels looked his way again, his left arm rain forth, bearing the wraith of the Cross Driver as it took flight; circling the room in a dazzling yet horrifying display, liberating the heads of everyone standing in the dining hall... returning to its point of origin with a dull thud and unforgiving precision.  
  
Red Rain - Birth on the Dance Floor  
  
A swift kick forced open the main doors and Danius Gabriel let himself in to Deviloux Manor as Christian had not long before. The air was ripe with death and pleasure... up ahead, five men stood amidst the remains of the dining hall in disbelief. Hundreds lay dead before them, their lives extinguished in mere heartbeats, seeing such horror they had never witnessed and the sight of it all tore at the ends of their sanity as a ravenous beast about its prey. Hearing Danius' footsteps, the men turned and looked at the young boy helplessly. Another demon?  
  
"Yes..." Danius answered the unheard question with his unbearably sweet voice. His pale left hand appeared up from his pants pocket and contained within, a small blue handle -chik-chik-chik-chik- ...came forth the blade of his x-acto knife.  
  
Where prior Harvests filled the halls with the sounds of happiness and ecstasy, were now riddled with silence. Bodies missing pieces lined the floor, the halls, and the walls. Candles burned lighting the way for no one but the dead. Christian stormed through the Palace of the Privileged...  
  
"Big Brother!"  
  
His footsteps carried the anger and desire for death of some higher source...  
  
"BIG BROTHER!"  
  
Dragging behind him the ignited lower blade of the Cross Driver, burning into the ground the path of ending lives he'd taken to reach his destination... for the gatherer of souls to follow behind when all was said and done and collect the lost beings. "BIG BROTHER I'M COMING FOR YOU!"  
  
High atop the castle, deep within the protected bowels of Marcus' personal chambers; the family elders sat around a grand table before stacks of unimaginable wealth and adding machines, smiling on the inside like little children as they performed the menial tasks. At the head of the table, seated in his throne, Marcus stared on with a disinterest that was legendary. This was a time of joy for all the Deviloux family except for him, he hadn't cared for such things in all his life yet he was still heralded as a King; a false King ruling over a Kingdom he cares nothing for.  
  
Without warning, the doors to his chambers burst open and immediately shut as soon as a trio of young men entered; each of them heaving in a vain attempt to regain their breath after running from death for what felt like their entire lives. The sound of calculations ceased as the elders looked up with grimacing eyes towards the young lads.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Marcus demanded, his voice booming through the chamber, rising from his throne as was god taking notice of some outlandish act of heresy committed before his very eyes.  
  
"An... intruder..." One of the young men choked out, overcome with fatigue.  
  
"Two. Actually." Danius spoke up whimsically, appearing from the shadows themselves with a happy look about him.  
  
"Danius?" Marcus beckoned, turning his attention to the silver-haired boy. "Have you betrayed me? Explain yourself, demon!" he continued with fury, laying a hand upon the hilt of his blade.  
  
"Betrayed? What gives you that impression? All I did was bring Christian to the party..."  
  
The mere mention of that name brought Marcus' blood to a boil, "...though, as I'm sure you are already aware... he has a habit of getting just a tad too excited." Danius' voice continued to echo as he disappeared back to the shadows.  
  
"BIG BROTHER!" Christian roared at the door; though, to everyone on the opposite end; hell itself may as well be clawing at the portal. "BIG BROTHER!!!!" he screamed... A jade 'X' marked the door and reduced it to ashes; giving way to the blue storm that wait on the other side.  
  
"Bloody..." As before, his left arm ripped forward; throwing the Cross Driver to the crowd and planted itself in the middle of the grand table, splitting the oracle of wealth in two, causing it to cave in on itself, "...CROSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!" Still visible, the northern blade of the Cross Driver turned crimson and brought forth additional growth both to the left and right. Illuminated crosses matching the beacon atop Christian's weapon appeared within the bodies of the elders and the three men who'd escaped earlier; bringing all to erupt in flames. Soulless cries of agony and pain filled the chambers as the light of judgment took its course, leaving Christian and Marcus in its wake... 


	3. Baby Steps

No words were said. What words could be said? Cutting through the silence, the Cross Driver uprooted from the table and whirled through the air, racing back to it's master's hand, landing with the dull thud of metal clapping against flesh.  
  
"I've been waiting for this day for almost ten years..." Christian finally spoke, his words dripping with malice and loathing for the violet haired devil before him.  
  
A slight smirk betrayed the calm visage of Marcus' face, "...and here I thought you'd lost yourself--"  
  
"I could only wish!" Christian broke in, "...then I wouldn't be standing here as some tool of yours! I could finally be someone else, even if just a slave to another's design. ANYONE BUT YOU!"  
  
"No... I shouldn't have expected less. You never had much in the ways of gratitude, you filthy street urchin."  
  
"Fuck you, Marcus."  
  
"Using big-boy words I see..." Marcus chuckled, unsheathing his blade composed of Zoid-Magnite, a vicious blade that emanated a haunting cyan glow. "So, your 'vocabulary' has... grown up, but has the rest of you? I wonder, are you finally going to stop fighting like a child? Or did you just come here to die again... 'Hell's Shit-stain'..."  
  
Baby Steps - Recounting the Tale  
  
Within one of the upper banquet halls, Danius sat beside himself in solitude. Like all the other rooms of the castle; this too was draped in bodies and blood. "This is all they'll ever be good for..." the imp whispered, tapping off a half-finished glass of wine, "...but so long as it's for my benefit, I suppose I can't complain..."  
  
Throwing the glass to the floor, he stood up from the blood-stained chair and glanced about the room. "True to his word, he took care of the lot of them. But... there are more left... aren't there?" To which he shifted his glance to the ceiling, crimson eyes piercing the ageless stone walls, "...yes... Well, it would be bad manners to leave a job unfinished, now wouldn't it?"  
  
'chik-chik-chik-chik-chik-chik'... again came forth his thin-bladed X-Acto knife.  
  
Showers of orange sparks continually illuminated Marcus' chambers as the Cross Driver and the cyan blade met each other with ferocity outmatched only by their wielder's hate for the other. "So... I heard that after you plowed your sister, you blew each other's brains out."  
  
"News always traveled fast to you, didn't it?" Christian responded coldly, leaping back toward the collapsed table.  
  
Drawing his sword back, laying both hands upon the hilt, Marcus glared at the blue-haired demon opposite him, "Then what the hell'd you come back for?!"  
  
"Clerical error. They said they wanted you, instead!" Leaning back, Chris used the reverse end of the Cross Driver to pick up a charred corpse and promptly lobbed it at Marcus... who cleanly split the lifeless mass in half as he dashed towards his prey. "James should never have taken a worthless wretch like you in! Should've left you to starve on the streets like all the other rotten cherubs!" Marcus returned every word bitterer than the last.  
  
"Probably." Christian smirked, ducking a horizontal swing, "...because if he hadn't... and just left me there to starve... then just think... YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO DIE TONIGHT!" Again leaping backward withdrew a Mac 11 from underneath his shirt into his left hand and squeezed hard on the trigger; lighting up the room and the night with a spray of bullets.  
  
Such tactics were never enough to down Marcus; although a few bullets managed to graze his face and arms, the others either flew harmlessly by or met their fate at the hands of his cyan blade, "Unless you stop playing around, then I'll put my blade through your heart, again!"  
  
Contrary to popular belief, the top level of Deviloux Manor housed another room apart from Marcus' chamber, only three knew of it; one was inside at all times, another was off fighting Christian and the other... well...  
  
Laying his pale hand upon the rusted, circular shape device, Danius turned and pushed forward; allowing himself entrance into Marcus' Sanctuary and the unheard of room to Roxanne Deviloux. Not often had light from the outside touched these sacred walls.  
  
"Marcus?" A feminine voice from within beckoned to the light.  
  
"Heh, sorry. Wrong devil." Danius replied, stepping into view.  
  
"D-Danius...? What are you doing here?"  
  
His free hand swiftly shut and locked the door behind him, extinguishing the light from outside leaving only the few candles within to illuminate Roxanne's room. Turning her gaze from the slumbering infant in her arms, to her visitor to see why he hadn't replied to her question yet... only for her eyes to light up in horror.  
  
"Tying up some loose ends..."  
  
The exhausted submachine gun fell to the floor in pieces after having been run through courtesy of Marcus, which only caused Christian's amusement and Marcus' anger to grow. "Running as always... if there was one thing I couldn't do for you, it was to teach you how to be a little cleaner with your work!" Marcus fumed, taking the opportunity to again swing for Christian's head.  
  
-Thud-  
  
Stopped short of its target, the blade had been halted... held firmly in the grip of Christian's hand. "Idiot, what are you trying to do? You know that's suicide!" Marcus protested, dumbfounded by his adversary's display. "Wouldn't be the first time, Christian laughed.  
  
"I'm growing tired of your incessant games! Stop dicking around and let's be on with it!" Marcus growled, unable to pull his blade free... a feat which otherwise would prove effortless, but now...?  
  
"The games have stopped." Christian replied calmly, his face a quiet reflection of Marcus' usual tone. "I thought you might enjoy one last challenge in life, but it just goes to show which of us is truly ungrateful." With a flick of his wrist, the blade snapped in two and Marcus was sent tumbling back.  
  
Marcus could only look on, speechless; the sight was far too much for words to conjure. Taking the Cross Driver at an end into both his hands, Christian let out a deep sigh as he made the final approach... "...and it is with this, that I bid you farewell from this world, Mon Maître, Marcus Deviloux."  
  
-WHOOSH!-  
  
...  
  
Walking with red footsteps, Danius slowly approached Marcus' chambers and slid past the main doors, only to be greeted by Marcus' blood soaked, severed head landing in his arms. Looking up, his ruby eyes caught sight of a quiet, tired Christian perched in Marcus' throne. "Guess that'll learn me to have a little more faith in you." Danius joked, dropping the head to the floor and kicking it aside.  
  
Christian said nothing, simply stood up from the throne and slowly made his way to the door. Danius watched with curious eyes, "...what should we do about this place?"  
  
"Who cares?"  
  
"Don't you think the authorities will find this all a might suspicious?"  
  
"That's their problem."  
  
"Christian...?"  
  
He stopped. "..."  
  
"Problem?"  
  
"I... can't move." he thought to himself, the glow in his eyes subsiding and the golden tone fading... they slowly returned to their original red hue, of which they had not been since he first left this world.  
  
Danius smiled to himself, holding his arms behind his back, "...about your earlier question..." 


	4. Trinity

Christian began swearing internal, "What the hell's going on?"  
  
"You know..." Danius started, calmly wiping his hands of the dry blood that'd built up on them, "...in spite of all my powers, I don't have the ability to return home. Though, that little oversight will be cleared up shortly. In any case, if I were to guess... then yes, I'd have to say I'd be pretty giddy to be back home.  
  
"That so?" Chris returned, the words nearly stopped in his throat from anxiety. "Why am I so nervous? What's wrong with me?"  
  
Walking up to the throne both Marcus and Christian had abandoned, Danius took it upon himself and have a seat, crossing one leg over the other and folding both his hands neatly over his bended knee, "Let me tell you a story. ...eh, have a seat."  
  
A loud grunt escaped Christian's lips as unseen forces threw his body to the ground and turned him to face the story-teller. "...have you ever wondered why you're here? Why humans exist on a planet inhabited primarily by these... 'Zoids' of yours?"  
  
"The thought crossed my mind a couple times... but, it's all ancient history, what does it matter?"  
  
"Heh. Said the man who couldn't get over the fact that his father merrily slaughtered billions."  
  
"Hey Danius? Bite me!"  
  
"...maybe later..." His pale face was beaming with excitement, reclining back in the overly large seat; Danius stared absent-mindedly up at the ceiling as he so often did. "You've already learned of Earth, and that I'm one of its inhabitants... shouldn't come as a shock, since that's where you're from as well. Not you specifically, but, humans as a whole.  
  
Christian sat silently, staring down at the floor... finding it the best he could do, still unable to move under his own power.  
  
"Earth used to be a lot like Zi. On the brink of collapse, plagued by continuous war and fighting. A solution to the problems that faced the planet had to be found, lest the human race would drive itself to extinction. Eventually, a group exclaimed, 'Why don't we just get rid of those doing all the fighting?' Sounds like a reason a mother would give to her ignorant children, doesn't it?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Would you believe me if I told you it worked?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Yeah, I don't get it either. I won't bore you with the details, but all those humans naturally more prone to violence were gathered up and disposed of. Where, you might ask?"  
  
Answering his own question, Danius pounded his knuckles against the throne's arm rest. "I'd say that was about... two-three thousand years ago? I dunno... eventually we all just stopped caring how long it'd been, there were better things to do with our time than ponder over the existence of some celestial trash. Violence and aggression removed from their societies, humanity concentrated on pulling Earth back from the brink as well as bettering himself as a living creature. The full potential of the human mind, that had eluded scientists for centuries was finally be discovered and utilized. Long story short, it was a Utopia. Evolution isn't some crack- pot theory, it's possible. One just has to cut the fat from the meat."  
  
"Truly happy for ya, Danius." Christian spat back.  
  
"Of course... so long as man exists, he shall continue to be an imperfect creature and there will always be flaws in even the most basic of systems. Although the hot-spots of aggression had been wiped from man's consciousness, a small bit still lingered... intrinsic in all humans, erasing it is a fool's dream. Every now and again, someone got too rowdy. Medication and therapy usually solved the problem... and the gravest of cases typically resulted in termination. But, as I said... no system is perfect."  
  
"Is this story going to lead somewhere?"  
  
"...where I'm from, I'm considered something of a degenerate; a creature who shouldn't exist in this world. Of course, they only say that out of fear; fear of something greater than they. I must say I was quite a precocious little paradox, containing me was... Heh, well... impossible and, as you're already aware, I can't be killed. After they got tired of me mauling everyone, they figured their all-purpose contingency plan worked once, it could work again. They lifted up the cover of a thousand years old can of garbage and threw me right in.... hoping that, like the rest of you, I would never re-surface."  
  
"So I landed on this worthless rock, surrounded by inferior humans. God, it was just like I heard in stories growing up... all you do day in and day out is harm each other, bleed into each other; not even knowing why... guided by some intangible lust to end another's existence. For the first couple years, my mind was ravaged by depression. I'd rather die than stay here, I told myself but as we already covered, that wasn't an option... I needed a way out. Then, I met you."  
  
"The fabled son of Vega Obscura, the man who slaughtered billions and destroyed half the planet. It was if all those pitiful souls he took gathered themselves into a single, wonderful being... you. You are the greatest this cesspool of humanity has, and ever will have to offer. You, Christian, are my ticket out of here. I would've pulled this all together sooner, if it hadn't been for that demandable Black Organoid implanting that kid's memories into your head. I had to cleanse you of that mental infection before I could move forward... I'd say that was about six months ago."  
  
"Six months ago..." Chris thought under closed eyes, the last night he was ever truly himself.  
  
"Your sibling, Melissa sure did make that whole ordeal quite interesting. Christian my boy... you railed your sister for hours on end and reveled in it. That's pretty sick, even for me."  
  
Christian threw his head back and erupted in a fit of laughter as he recounted that night's events in his head.  
  
"...and they say I'm twisted."  
  
Trinity - Where This World Ends and the Next Begins....  
  
"So, how am I supposed to lead you back to Earth? I've never even been there before." Christian asked, finally joining the conversation. ...the feeling slowly returning to his body.  
  
"I'll be frank. I'm going to take your being into me, taking your skills, your mental powers, everything, into my being and through that fusion I will have the power to then return home."  
  
"Sounds like fun..." Chris answered back, noticeably less than enthused.  
  
"As much of a raving lunatic as I am, I do respect a human's will to preserve its own existence. It is out of that generosity that I'll allow you to try and stop me. If you succeed, then the story ends here and you'll be free to do whatever pleases your peon little brain for the rest of your days. If you fail... well..." Danius' trademark grin enlarged ten fold as the hue of his eyes and hair slowly inter-twined and traded places.  
  
"That... can't be good." Christian shamelessly admitted to himself, returning to his feet as quickly as his worn body would permit.  
  
"...then at least take solace in the fact that you'll be part of something greater."  
  
Looking back on it, I don't know why I tried... the fight didn't last at all long. I dunno... I guess I figured I didn't have much to lose either way, either that or something was gnawing at me on the inside, forcing me to fight him.  
  
Tightening his grip on the Cross Driver, Christian lunged at Danius and much in the same fashion as he beheaded Marcus, took a grand swing at the red-head's cranium, attempting to end Gabriel's little party as quickly as possible.  
  
I still don't know how he did it...  
  
In a way that words can't describe, Danius came out from the swing without a scratch on his pale skin, or a cause for concern on his face. With one quick swing...  
  
Got a little tough to see after that... it just hurt too much to really know what he did.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Christian wailed, falling to his knees, his entire body lost in convulsions as his hands gripped the left side of his face in a vain attempt stop the torrent of blood racing from the crevice that used to hold his eye.  
  
Side-stepping around the downed Obscura, Danius grinned and fluttered his fingers in an odd fashion that propelled Christian into the air and opened up lacerations on almost every inch of his body... landing on the other end of the chamber drenched in his own warm fluids.  
  
"Would you prefer to end this while your body still has the capacity to contain its own organs?"  
  
What could I say to that? Like I said before, it was hard to see... but, I remember it, clear as day. He was standing over me. His whole body lit up red.. Like he was on fire. "See you on the other side." Yeah, that's what he said...  
  
It gets a little fuzzy after that, all I remember is pure white... like in some head-trip movie and I could swear that... somewhere, Mel was calling out to me.  
  
When I woke up, I was still in Marcus' Chambers, still surrounded by the dead; but I could see fine again and I apparently had stopped bleeding out of every single pore. "Still got the devil's luck." I thought to myself, that's when I noticed what I was wearing. "Dad's pilot suit..." There was no mistaking that thing, black all over and skin-tight... felt like wearing a condom.  
  
"You're finally awake!" Someone called out from behind me.  
  
I couldn't believe what I saw next... "M-Mel?" She was right beside me, draped in orange, surrounded by feathers and butt-naked as always; though... I couldn't see past her mid-drift. She wrapped her arms around me and held me tight against her. "I thought you were..." I tried choking out, but... all this, it was just beyond words. "Shhh... it's okay now... I've got you..." She whispered back to me. It was like she was all around me, those feathers... I followed them to my fingers, all the way up to my back... "Try standing." She instructed.  
  
It seemed as good an idea as any, so I got back to my feet, but as I did something caught under my right foot and standing on it hurt like hell. "OW!" I yelped, holding my hands out as if expecting whatever hurt to land right in their grasp... and to me surprise, something did. Something long... and black... and slender... like a, "TAIL?!" At this point, my eyes were about to fall out as I observed the black snack-like obtrusion all the way to the point where it met my hips on my back. "Shh! Quiet!" Mel chirped, placing a finger over my lips. "You'll wake him up..." she warned, pointing to my right. When I directed my attention to what she'd been pointing at, my eyes were met with a third great surprise... a red collection of feathers; similar to what Mel was encased in... if that was the proper term. "Wings... and a tail..." I looked at my crimson wing again. Mel, in one way or another inhabited the left one... so, it didn't take much guesswork to figure out who was lying dormant in the other one.  
  
"So, is this that... 'part of something greater' he was boasting about?" I asked no one in particular. But Mel was quick to answer back. "Sort've." She replied, "...the end result clearly wasn't in his favor. I don't even know exactly what was supposed to happen. All I knew was that I wasn't going to let him steal you away from me again." Even if she was a shameless horn-dog, whenever she spoke, it was always comforting to listen to. I guess that's the whole point of family.  
  
"We should probably go."  
  
"Where?" I asked her.  
  
"Somewhere. Far. Away from Zi. Nothing good can come from us staying here any longer."  
  
I was inclined to agree with Melissa, besides, it would be rather difficult to blend in with the other people when you've got honkin' angel wings on your back and're draggin' around a tail. Apparently she could read my mind now too, because as soon as the thoughts came, she started laughing.  
  
"There's a couple things I wanna do first. A couple people we need to see and give them the goodbye we cheated them out of." I knew she agreed with me, it was the least we could do for the people we'd turned our backs on when they needed us the most... even if they didn't forgive us.  
  
I'm still not entirely sure what happened to me that night... I don't think I'll ever know. But, I don't think it's a matter worth delving over. What I told Marcus had come true, I was free not just from him, from my whole past. The life I'd lived for 20 years, trying to redeem the sins of our father... I realized I no longer had to live that way if I chose so. I just wish I didn't have to repeat his sins to come to that realization.  
  
- End 


End file.
